I've changed to Dunlop D251 tires around the 9000-mile mark. What a disappointment that was. After the tires were installed we started on a one-week trip, where we went up to Yellowstone National Park and back to the Bay Area. The tire handling was by far different than the Bridgestones. As well they started to cup after only 2000 miles and once back from the trip the front tire was completely useless. That's when I learned that the tire was made for the VTX and only happens to have the same size as the Goldwing tires and have the same weight rating. So the next stop for service brought a new set of Bridgestones. If you ever think of taking the D251 - forget it. As my first set of Bridgestones did cup after about 4000 miles I can tell that the new ones, which have now about 6000 on them are doing fine. The cupping can be felt with the fingers, but is not clearly visible. But the driving style over those 6000 miles was different from the first set. Recently on a trip down the Pacific Coast we've done some harder riding and could see immediately that the cupping got worse. Driving along the highway seems to be no problems for the tires, but aggressive cornering will cause premature cupping on the tires.
Fuel consumption now stays somewhere between 41 and 43mpg all the time. There is hardly a peek up or down. However the bike is showing some wear in the plastic. The side covers of the fairing, that are clipped on and hold the front mask in place are loosing its small pins to hold it in place. Very bad design from Honda, since they are so small and not removing the cover carefully will break them. Maybe somebody is building those in chrome some day with a better clip mechanism that will last longer. I'll be more than happy to buy those. This is just another part that makes me think that production/design quality on some other manufacturers is better. But on the other side the fun factor of this bike still needs to be achieved by those.
Another weak point is the paint that seems to be very soft, as it is showing scratch marks all over the place. Too bad there seems to be no touch up paint available here in the US. Could use it on some places where small stones must have hit the bike and make it look ugly there. As well the close mechanism for the top case is so tight, that the notches there will scuff away the paint. Not very good and there should have been a better mechanism for that. But overall I still love the bike and would pay the price again to get one.
Still my bike does not have any accessories, since the riding position
is just optimal for my size. Don't need any backrest, highway board or
even a different windshield to bang your had on every time you get on or
off. Moving the standard windshield to the top position provides enough
protection against wind and the buffeting is minimal. The only sing that
we'll do sometime is put some chrome accents in some places. But let's
see what comes up in the next 10000 miles. At least it's going to be time
for the valve adjustment.